JUPITER - It was only a day earlier that Alex Rodriguez was lamenting how he has a way of getting himself into trouble because "he's not really good with words" when he speaks. Little did he know how soon he would make a comment he was wishing he could take back.

Not that he meant anything by it, but because his every word is analyzed to an extreme these days, A-Rod quickly realized how a compliment of Jose Reyes, his new teammate on the Dominican Republic team, might be misinterpreted as a swipe at Derek Jeter.

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It seemed nothing more than praise for Reyes' game-breaking ability when A-Rod lightheartedly said, "I wish he was leading off on our team." But you can understand him being a bit paranoid at the moment, to the point where he felt the need to clarify himself through PR people with the Dominican team and the Yankees as well.

Such is life for him since being outed as a steroid user and then bungling his confession to it with his Dumb and Dumber tale of buying and injecting "boli" with the help of cousin Yuri.

Here's the set-up: Reyes, the Mets' shortstop, had flashed his speed on the bases in a 10-1 win over the Marlins, stealing a run by essentially turning a bloop single into a triple, hustling to second on the throw from the outfield trying to nail a runner at third, and later stealing third and eventually scoring on a ground ball.

Afterward A-Rod was raving about the talent of both Reyes and Hanley Ramirez, the two young shortstops who are both on this team, when he was asked specifically about Reyes' speed.

"I wish he was leading off on our team," A-Rod said with a chuckle. "That's fun to watch. Anytime you have that type of speed. I mean, we have a guy in (Brett) Gardner, and that'll be fun. That's probably the most fun you can have, is watching a guy like that run."

From there A-Rod answered a few more questions at his press session, then headed back into the clubhouse, which is off-limits to the press in the WBC. Within minutes he must have realized, uh-oh. After all, Reyes and Jeter are both shortstops...oh no.

So A-Rod quickly sent word through the PR person for the Dominican team that he was only trying to pay Reyes a compliment. Then he called the Yankees to explain what he'd said and why, hoping to head off trouble.

In other words, it's fair to say he was in a panic, no doubt because of his strained relationship with Jeter that has been something of a backdrop to his time with the Yankees.

You never know with A-Rod. He invites more cynicism when he makes a show of hugging and kissing his daughters while surrounded by cameras, as he did here on Monday, but there's no reason to believe this was anything more than giving an honest impression of Reyes.

For two days here, in fact, A-Rod has appeared to be enjoying this experience perhaps even more than he expected. It's a loose, have-fun atmosphere, and from all indications, he is revered by his Dominican Republic teammates, many of whom are young and have idolized him for years.

Ramirez was asked Tuesday what it was like hitting in front of A-Rod and said, "Oh, man, you see a lot of fastballs. It's like a dream come true."

A-Rod himself said that together with Moises Alou, he considers himself and David Ortiz the leaders of this team. That too is a comfortable feeling because of what he has revealed as a very close friendship with a member of the hated Red Sox.

Noting that Ortiz has been as supportive of him during his steroid ordeal as anyone in baseball, A-Rod said, "David's my brother. I consider him a true friend, not only in baseball but in life.

"We came up in the Seattle organization together, and I remember him in A-ball. I always thought he was going to be special. I never knew he was going to cause me so much pain (as a vaunted Yankee-killer), but I knew he was going to be special."

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Ortiz, in turn, has been very public in his support of A-Rod.

"Of course I'm there for him," he said. "People don't know Alex has a lot of friends in this game. This is a good chance for him to clear everything up and play baseball. Everyone needs to move on."

Ortiz said he doesn't believe A-Rod will have it any tougher playing in Boston because of his steroid admission. After all, fans had the Madonna masks out last year, and they've been booing him since he signed with the Yankees.

"It'll be like it always is," Ortiz said with a laugh.

Those words might just sum up A-Rod's existence best. One way or another, he's always a headline waiting to happen.